And the World Stood Still
by Christine Leigh
Summary: Season seven Valentine's Day. Canon through Millennium. Diverges after that. Two perspectives on the holiday.


TITLE: And the World Stood Still   
AUTHOR: Christine Leigh  
RATING: K  
CATEGORY: V  
KEYWORDS: MSR  
SPOILERS: "Millennium."

SUMMARY: Season seven - Valentine's Day. Canon through "Millennium." Diverges after that. Two perspectives on the holiday.

DISCLAIMER: All characters are the products of Chris Carter. They also belong to Ten-Thirteen Productions and the Fox Network. No copyright infringement intended.

And the World Stood Still  
By Christine Leigh

February 14, 2000  
9:45 a.m.

"Agent Scully, good morning."

If there had been any doubt what day this was, the scene before Scully certainly laid that to rest. The good ship cupid had docked and its captain was in full celebration mode. From her red silk blouse to the red foil-wrapped chocolate hearts in the bowl on her desk to what appeared to be two dozen roses - red, of course, in a crystal vase that stood on the file cabinet, Kim was observing Valentine's Day in style. Scully took it all in for a few seconds and then couldn't help smiling. For Kim, and for . . . well, she smiled.

"Good morning, Kim. What gorgeous roses. Michael?"

The question wasn't really necessary. Kim had become engaged to be married during the Christmas holiday just past, and from the look of things Scully gathered that the assistant director's assistant was reveling in experiencing this day as one of the affianced.

Kim beamed her response as Scully handed her the report she'd come to deliver.

"I'm glad to see that he's honoring the day appropriately."

"He's such a romantic, and I'm very lucky."

"You wear it well. I'm truly happy for you, Kim."

It warmed Kim to hear this. Oddly enough, sharing her happiness with Agent Scully felt right. They weren't friends, but they were on a friendly basis within the parameters of their professional lives. There was nothing pretentious about Dana Scully and that was something Kim appreciated.

"Dana, I've never been so -- I know how this must sound, but I wish every woman could feel today as I do."

Upon hearing this, Scully turned away from Kim and quickly dissembled, glancing back and forth between the clock on the wall and her watch. She felt somewhat flushed.

"Is everything all right, Dana?"

"Yes. I'm sorry, Kim. I just remembered an appointment and apparently I also need a new battery for my watch. I'm running late."

"Have a heart for the road. Or two." Kim's gaze was directed toward the bowl of candy.

"Don't mind if I do. Thanks." Scully plucked out two red hearts. "I hope the rest of the day is as wonderful for you." Then she was gone.

Kim smiled. Life is beautiful.

-------------

She had no appointment, but once back in the office Scully was able to breathe a little easier and take the time that she seemed to require recently on random occasions to assimilate her emotions into her workaday world. It was still new, this life they were attempting together. And make no mistake, it was good -- so beyond what she'd ever imagined. But it could, and usually when she least expected it, leave her needing a moment to catch up.

She sat down and opened her briefcase, removing the card that had been by her bedside this morning when she awakened -- for once not alone on this day that she hadn't given a second thought for several years. Let others be excessive and silly today, but never her. Well, as the saying goes, never is a long time.

The card was in its envelope -- a protected, precious object. There was something about seeing her name written in his hand that touched her so, and for a few minutes she sat there just holding it and thinking of him. Then she removed it. The design was simple; two hearts, one inside the other, outlined in red on an ivory background. Once again, she read the words he'd written:

Scully,

I don't know that we need today, but regardless, if it provides one more reason to tell you how much I love you, then it's fine by me. Our time together since the best New Year's Eve on record has been the happiest of my life. I said to you that night that the world didn't end. I do think, however, that it stood still. Just for a moment. I carry that moment with me always.

Love, Mulder

She blinked away the tears that seemed to come on schedule these days, and then put the card away. This was no way to greet him (the second time today!) and he was due any minute. Once she'd told him she wouldn't change a day of their time together and even though she'd joked about the flukeman after, she'd meant every word. So much more had happened since then, and she could not honestly say that she wouldn't change a few things that had occurred, but only if she had the power to do so without disturbing the present. The possibility of being anywhere other than where she is today, with him, is not something to consider.

She got up. The past was the past, and now it is Valentine's Day and she is in love. She placed one of Kim's foil hearts on his desk.

Life is beautiful.

End

Author's note - The title of this vignette comes from the unabashedly romantic song from the 1955 movie of the same name, "Love is a Many-Splendored Thing," music by Sammy Fain and lyrics by Paul Francis Webster. And so it goes:

Love is a many-splendored thing,  
It's the April rose that only grows in the early spring,  
Love is nature's way of giving a reason to be living,  
The golden crown that makes a man a king.  
Lost on a high and windy hill,  
In the morning mist two lovers kissed and the world stood still,  
When our fingers touch my silent heart has taught us how to sing,  
Yes, true love's a many-splendored thing.


End file.
